Stay With Me?
by ListenToTheRainDrops
Summary: When she's in need of help, he arrives to his suprise and hers. He knows he hates her and she knows she can't stand him, right? Both need to have a change of heart, but why? Starts kinda dark but will get lighter,i promise.No HBP spoilers DHr Not a 1 shot
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I probably don't own it unless J.K. changed her mind and decided to give me full possession. Hmm, I'd own Draco. That could turn out very well. I'm sure many of you gals out there _know_ what I'm thinkin'. Yum. Haha.

Chapter One

The still, dark water seemed soothing, relaxing. It was almost as if it called her, beckoned for her to join and become a part of it, to swim out to the middle, and disappear, forever. She could forget her worries, her problems, and her regrets. She wouldn't care about the upcoming war with Voldemort and constantly worry whether or not Harry would come out victor. She so desperately longed for the peace that she once knew, back when she never had to devise new plans to keep her friends and classmates alive.

Everything had changed in fifth year. All the mess in the Department of Mysteries had, as expected, caused quite a stir. People didn't feel safe anymore now that they knew Voldemort was back. All were looking over their shoulder now, just to be sure. But they didn't care that he had a few certain people, _students_, no less, directly in the crosshairs.

If anything ever happened to Harry, Ron or Ginny it would drive her over the edge. She worried about them constantly, always taking special precautions, unbeknownst to them, when they were out, even in the safest of places. No, that was wrong. There were no safe places anymore. Any and every place seemed vulnerable to attack of some sort. After the Ministry catastrophe she was looking for the weaknesses in everything, and everyone. Just to be on the safe side because after all, you couldn't be too careful. You never knew what could happen so it was best to know as much as you could about your surroundings. It didn't look like much of anybody else took the time to do this, but it was quickly becoming second nature to her. That way, if there were an attack, she would know the areas that were in greatest danger of unauthorized entrance and could direct others away from them.

Sometimes it felt as though she was standing next to a massive cliff and the precipice was continuously moving closer. Sometimes it was so little she could hardly notice but others it seemed as if she'd so much as take in a breath, she would fall and no one would be able to bring her back. With every step she took, it seemed like it killed her just a little bit more. Would anybody _really _notice if she followed the water's silent, alluring commands? If she just started walking to the center of the lake and never turned back. Would anyone try to save her? Bring her back? Those were the questions she'd never dare try to answer. For every answered one, it seemed ten more would come to take its place. Could she survive this? Could she make it through? The answers never came, not that she expected them to.

"Hermione!"

At hearing her name, Hermione snapped out of her reverie and spun around. About thirty yards away stood her ebony haired best friend. Getting up off the ground and walking over, she realized she was starting to sneak off and hide by herself more and more. Her hopes were that her friends wouldn't notice. If they did, there would be questions and that would only complicate things, making it harder for her to steal away and be alone at the lake. Oh, she'd find a way to escape for a little while, that wasn't even a question. She just didn't want her friends to be worried about her was all. If Harry were preoccupied with his concern for her, it would have the possibility of distracting him during attack, and that could cost him his life. So if he wasn't thinking about her, she thought he'd have a better shot of coming out champion in whatever battles came his way. And Hermione didn't want to handicap her other friends with her problems either so it was just better all around if she didn't share them.

"Oh, Merlin, Hermione! Your hands are like ice! Here, put this on," Harry said as he slipped off his cloak and draped it over her shoulders.

When she actually thought about it, her hands were cold. Hermione never felt cold when she was down by the lake though. She didn't feel much of _anything _when she was there. She supposed she was just too numb to feel it, but then again, it was an advantage to be that numb sometimes. It was better than feeling the immense sadness that repeatedly overtook her.

"Thank you, Harry. I forgot my cloak inside. I didn't think I'd need it since I had only intended to be out here for a few minutes. I could have sworn I saw somebody out here when I was up in my bedroom finishing up the rest of next week's homework. I came out to give them a detention for being out after hours but didn't see anyone _anywhere_. But then I looked over and saw the giant squid, so I decided to watch him for a while. It was quite pleasant actually." Hermione was lying through her teeth, but that wasn't important at the moment. _What Harry doesn't know, won't hurt him._

"Ever the Head Girl, aren't you, 'Mione?" Harry laughed.

"But what were _you_ doing out at this hour? Harry James Potter, I thought I told you about doing that! You _never _come out after hours anymore! It is not safe at all."

"Don't worry Hermione, I'm safe now aren't I? But, to answer your question, I came out here to get you. When I was in the common room Seamus told me it looked like you were outside sitting by the lake. I came out to find out if it was you or not and as it turns out, it was. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it." Harry said, laughing as he said the last part.

By this time, the pair was to the castle doors and went inside.

"Want me to walk you to your room?"

"No thanks, Harry. I can make it on my own. I've got my wand, remember?"

"Yeah, I know. But I still can't help but worry about you."

"Thank you. I appreciate your concern. But do you want me to walk you to _your_ room? That way if a teacher walks by and sees you, I could say I was making sure you got back to your commonroom and that I reprimanded you for being out so late. You wouldn't get in trouble."

"Well…I don't know…that's at the other side of the castle…I don't want you to have to go all the way back to your dormitory alone considering the hour."

"Oh Harry! I told you! Stop worrying about me. I'm a big girl of seventeen already, Hogwarts' seventh year Head Girl, smartest student in the castle. If I can't take care of myself, in Hogwarts especially, then I'm afraid I have a serious problem on my hands," she laughed. "Come on. Let's not be out later than necessary." And with that, they both started heading out in the direction of the portrait of the Fat Lady.

They made small talk on their diminutive journey, which usually only took ten minutes and since they were traveling with a faster-paced walk, Hermione figured they would be to the portrait opening in about four more minutes. Harry insisted that they hurry up a slight bit so his dear friend could get to her room quicker. He was going to tell her just to go ahead and leave him since they were halfway there but figured not to argue because Hermione was too stubborn to change her mind and go with his proposal. Though in the very back of his mind he was marginally relieved that she had, indeed, decided to go with him. It wasn't the dark emptiness, like most people would say, that he was afraid of. It was because the last time he was out in the halls after hours, Snape had caught him. He told Harry that if he ever caught him in that situation again, he would be cleaning the Potions' dungeon every day for a month. Of course upon Dumbledore hearing of it, the Headmaster had reduced it to only a week, but still, it would be without magic, you could bet your life on that. It would take forever and Harry _really _didn't want to have to go through that torture.

"Password?"

"Bezoar," said Harry.

Hearing the right word, the large, familiar portrait swung open.

"Good night Harry. See you in the morning."

" Night 'Mione, please be careful walking back to your commonroom."

"I will, but I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"I always will. Sweet dreams now."

"Same to you."

Hermione turned and started to walk back for the Heads' room, but alone this time. Harry stopped just inside the portrait opening and watched her go. There was something not right with her; he knew it. If only he knew what it was.

-----

Hermione walked down the long, silent, corridor after ensuring that her friend got into Gryffindor Tower unharmed. Sure, she didn't particularly _like _walking around by herself in the dark hallways of Hogwarts, ok, sometimes she was downright scared, but still, she liked to be certain that Harry was fine. After all, _he_ was the one that had to go up against Voldemort whenever the time came. Ron and herself would be flanking him of course, but still, the ultimate power needed to rid the earth of this evil being was within Harry himself so she took it as her duty to make sure he was safe until that time arrived. Merlin only knew what would happen if he were severely wounded when You-Know-Who attacked with all of his ignorant followers behind him. So Hermione would do whatever necessary to protect him, not only because he was one of her best friends, which was reason enough as it was, but because he was the key to the deliverance of the universe. The world needed him more than they all knew.

_CRACK!_

Hermione heard a sound and stopped dead in her tracks. She _heard_ something and it scared her terribly. Seven years worth of curses, jinxes, and hexes raced through her mind as well as a broad number of defensive spells.

Wand gripped tightly in her petite hand, she slowly started inching her body closer to the wall. When Hermione felt the cool stone through her shirt she felt marginally better. She had read it was smarter to do that than to have your back open and susceptible to blows. _At least I can't be attacked through the wall…or it's not as likely anyway._

_CRACK...CRACK!_

Hermione was so thankful that she was top witch of her year and knew more spells than most of her peers because that put her at an advantage, but nonetheless, she was still scared out of her wits. She just hoped that whatever it was, wasn't dangerous. If this were a student playing some sort of prank, Hermione didn't know what she'd do. It says on page 92 in the handbook that 'the Head Girl cannot attack another student physically or verbally' and she had always planned to uphold that rule but if they kept that noise up she just might be tempted to 'forget' about that rule.

The noise didn't cease. It didn't even seem to miss a beat in the rhythm. About every seven seconds she heard it. After the first half minute she started to follow it, trying to decipher where exactly it was coming from.

Approximately ten yards from where she had originally started, Hermione was across from one of the staircases. Taking a few steps toward it, she looked down and around the general area seeing as how this was where it sounded like it was coming from. Still not noticing anything, she took a few steps, and then some more till Hermione was standing at the top of the stairs. She laid her free hand on the banister and all at once the crackling stopped and a blinding light materialized in the center of the middle landing, all happening in the time span of about one second. Startled, she removed her hand and went to retreat back to the safety of her wall. When she neared the halfway point in the corridor, lights started forming all around her but none to the magnitude of the initial one. Hermione was so certain that her heart would beat straight out of her chest at that very moment if she didn't get away and calm herself down.

If one were to see lights like that on a normal day, they might think it was a sign from the Gods, but these weren't like that. They weren't like that at all. It was almost as if you could feel the energy just flowing from them but it wasn't a good energy. It felt tainted. She had to get away. Hermione knew enough about these things and magic in general to know that no good could come out of staying here. And how was she supposed to fight light anyway?

_Hermione, what have you gotten yourself into _this _time? I've gotta get out of here now!_

She turned ninety degrees around and started to run. If she raced as fast as she could, she might make it to her commonroom in roughly four minutes. She was, after all, still a little ways from it. If she could only get out of this corridor she would, in theory, be freed from the frightening light show that was presently going on all around her.

Hermione was running for all she was worth carefully dodging the lights. There was nothing else she _could_ do. In ten seconds she was clear of them but for her, it seemed like so many terrifying minutes had passed. As soon as she was clear of them she desperately wanted to look back. She had a feeling that she shouldn't but she couldn't help herself. While still fleeing from the corridor into a little hallway, she turned her head back a little to see what was happening. What she saw almost took her breath away. All the lights were now swarming around and made two groups. Apparently all had a spot in the formation because when she looked back about two seconds later, the big bright spots had arranged themselves to the shape of eyes, two very evil eyes. Then it appeared as if they blinked somehow because for a split second the hallway was drenched in darkness and when they reappeared, she couldn't help but stop. Instead of the blinding white color that the 'spots' held before, every single one of them was now red. Blood red.

That scared Hermione enough to make her turn and start running again. She made her way as fast as her long, slender legs could carry her.

_What the bloody hell is going on! What in the name of Merlin was that thing? If I didn't know better I'd say it was- no, no it wasn't him. It couldn't have been. I HAVE to be dreaming this. No, I know damn well that I'm wide-awake. If I were asleep, I would have woken up upon having THAT thing appear in my dream. I just need to get back to my room. No, I should go to Dumbledore. He needs to know what's going on, immediately._

Seeing the next corridor, she turned. Knowing exactly where it would take her, right to the Headmaster's office. Hermione quickly looked back to make sure she wasn't being followed as she turned the corner. All of a sudden, she slipped on something and her feet went straight out from under her. Hermione felt herself falling; it was almost as if it was happening in slow motion. She braced herself for the impact of the hard, concrete floor.

_This is gonna hurt. I hope everybody is ok…_

Hermione never felt the collision. Instead of hitting the floor, she felt strong arms go around her tiny waist. The next thing she knew, whoever it was that caught her, had her whole body up off the floor, carrying her bridal style down the hallway. For a microsecond, she thought about struggling to get away from this man, but then thought different of it. For an unknown reason, she felt so safe and secure in this stranger's arms. She opened her eyes to try to see the face of the person that saved her but the corridor was too dark. It appeared that about three quarters of the torches had blown out, and those were few and far apart at that.

Her mind still reeling from the spectacle she had just played witness to, Hermione did the only thing she could; she fainted.

**A/N:** Hey everyone! This is my second attempt at Harry Potter fanfiction. I hope it was good enough. I worked hard, what with all the writing and the editing, and the typing, yadda, yadda, yadda. But never mind all that! All I want you to do is review and tell me what you think. Easy! Constructive criticism is always welcome. Just please do it in a nice way. And if you see any typos, PLEASE let me know. I will fix them straight away. They irk me sooo bad. Thanks! Talk to you guys next chapter! Cya :)  
Stars


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue, thank you! (Heh heh, I made a rhyme.)

Chapter Two 

Hermione woke up and the first thing that registered was that she wasn't in the Head Girl dormitory. Then the events from the previous night came streaming through her head at lightening fast speed. Her mind's eye could still see the pair of demonic, red, eyes floating in the corridor in mid-air. Then she remembered how that heroic young man had somehow caught and carried her after she slipped on what she assumed to be water. It was kind of romantic though…a strong, man coming to her rescue and then _carrying _her in his arms, so close to him. Close enough to have felt his heartbeat…Making her feel so safe and secure. Hermione sighed. She was always being the hopeless romantic that she truly was. It was a side of her no one else knew about, of course, but still, it was part of her.

Hermione did wonder though, how he _had_ been there to catch her. Only someone who had been right behind her would have been able to do that, but then did that mean that there was…someone following her? _No, no of course there was no one following me. What an absurd idea!_

Hermione sat up slightly, leaning up onto her elbows. She was in the hospital. That wasn't too hard to figure out though considering how many times she'd seen this place. And plus it had a mess of clean, white beds in a long row along the wall so it kind of took one to the conclusion that they were in some sort of medical facility no matter how many times you'd seen it. _I guess he brought me here after I fainted. That was so sweet and thoughtful of him! _

Hermione looked up at the big sky blue framed clock that was hanging on the wall. It said 3:27 in the morning. _It figures. I wake up in the middle of the night not tired anymore. If I'd leave, Madam Pomfrey would have a conniption fit so my only option is to stay here all night. Damn it. I so wanted to go back to the commonroom and read my book._

Looking to the right side her bed, she saw something that she rightfully deemed as 'more than peculiar'. There, beside her, sleeping in one of the hard, wooden chairs, was Draco Malfoy.

His head was tilted slightly to the side, causing some of his pale hair to fall over his eyes. Lying open on his chest was a book, to which one hand was still hanging on to. The other was dangling loosely at his side. The top few buttons of his robe were undone, undoubtedly to assure that he wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night being choked to death by it if he moved a funny way and the collar was drawn upwards.

_Wow. I've never seen him asleep before. He looks so innocent and almost…seraphic when he doesn't have that damn sneer plastered on his face. You wouldn't think that someone who looks like this when they sleep could be such a rude and ill-mannered prat when they're awake. If I didn't know better, I would think he was relatively charming, of course, going purely by appearance. Once you get to know him though, you'd realize that he's…not. If I'd be totally unbiased, I'd be forced to say that he is, indeed, quite attractive. _

_But _what, _exactly, is he doing here at my bedside, though. Dear Merlin is _he _the guy that caught me? Why would he have though? I mean, he hates me. He wished me dead in second year! And anyway, what would he have been doing in that corridor at midnight? I wonder what Madam Pomfrey said when she saw him, if it even _was_ him, I mean, carrying me in here like that and with me unconscious._

Hermione laid down and closed her eyes, trying to go to sleep, even though she felt thoroughly well rested at that moment. After all, what else was there to do at that moment _other_ than sleep? Suddenly, Hermione bolted upright into a sitting position again. She had wholly forgotten telling Dumbledore about the 'interesting light show' that she had seen. She had to do that immediately! _Wait…wait…think a minute here, Dumbledore isn't going to be up at 3:40 in the morning. Maybe it could and should wait till daybreak. He'll be more alert and awake if I tell him later. That way he will be better able to come up with a suitable solution to the matter. Yes, that's a good thing. Although I think this news would wake him up straight away. Heh, heh. Morning, I will tell him in the morning._

With that plan of action planted firmly in her head, she went to lay down again but caught sight of Draco. He looked rather cold. Without covers, it probably would be somewhat chilly. Casting her own blanket aside, Hermione put her legs over the side of the bed. Gently setting one foot down and then the other, she got up and out of bed.

Silently walking down to the very end of her mattress and getting the spare sheet, she gathered it into her arms and tiptoed back over to where Draco was. Unfolding it, she, being very careful so as not to disturb him, leaned over and gently draped the cloth over his still, sleeping figure.

Doing it so very softly, but still feeling compelled to do it, she said in just below a whisper, "Goodnight Draco."

Hermione crawled back into her bed and slumped down till she was lying flat on the mattress again, her head in the neat pillow that was unusually comfortable for one in the hospital wing.

Rolling on her side and facing Draco, Hermione snuggled up with her blanket, closed her eyes, and fell into a contented slumber complete with a small smile gracing her full lips.

_- - - - -_

_Running. He was off again. He couldn't even stand and rest near a friggin' banister for five minutes without something going on tonight. Sometimes it felt like being Head Boy wasn't worth all the hassle that the scrawny, younger students put him through. Now there was someone running around the hallways with a light of some sort._

"_Bloody hell! What in Merlin's name is _that!" _Draco said when he stumbled upon the red lights. _

_Not wanting to go in the same vicinity as the monstrous eyes, Draco went in a different direction. That didn't look like something that a student could fight off easily and win against. Sure, they were lights, but these weren't ordinary lights. They weren't even remotely close to ordinary. He could feel it. Hell, someone with the magical ability of a peanut could have felt it. Where the hell was a teacher when you needed one? They were constantly buzzing around when you wanted to goof off but when you actually would have been glad to see one, where were they? Nowhere to be found. 'They probably enjoy doing this to me.' _

_Draco started down another corridor when he heard someone else, and from the sound of it, the person was in front of him but not too far away. Maybe this kid had somehow summoned the lights and couldn't get rid of them, then doing the only logical thing in that situation –they bolted. Well, whoever it was, he was going to find out exactly why they were out at this time of night and what happened. He was going to give them such a sever punishment for making him do all this, when you compared the two, Snape would have the intimidation factor of a daisy._

_Picking up speed, but remaining just as stealthy as a cat, he didn't make a sound. Draco was closing in on his prey, and fast. He wasn't about to let them get away from him when he had questions that he demanded answers to. In no time at all, he was just a few, short yards away from the person, he made it out to be a slender female, in front of him._

_All at once, the girl's feet slipped on some water that had dripped onto the hallway floor. She fell backwards and he dove forward to catch her. Just as she fell into his grasp, a strong gust of wind came down the corridor extinguishing the majority of the torches that lined the stone walls. 'That's just _great_. Real great. Now it's dark.' _

_The girl landed right into his awaiting arms and he gently picked her up. Her eyes still closed, he looked down at the young woman whom he had just saved from landing painfully on the hard floor and he almost dropped her in shock. 'Granger!'_

_Now, he was thankful that the hall was shrouded in darkness. She wouldn't be able to tell that it was he who was holding her presently in his arms. Draco just barely noticed her opening her eyes, she didn't say anything though so he safely assumed that she couldn't make out who it was. He was half expecting her to try to struggle out of his grasp and was even more surprised when he felt her go limp against him. 'Bloody hell! She fainted! I guess I should take her to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey will probably be angry at me for coming in so late like this but once she notices it's Granger, I bet there won't be a problem.' _

'_Granger's pretty light. I expected her to be heavier. She's _certainly_ not fat, but still, people _do _have weight. She needs to eat more is what she needs to do. Whenever she's in the Great Hall for meals, I never see her eat anything more than half a plateful. The few things she eats in a day doesn't even constitute the word 'meal' but it's no surprise considering she's got her nose stuck in a book most of the time. But then again, she has to sit near Weasel at meal times and with the way he eats, I think I'd lose my appetite too. Ugh.' _

_Draco kept thinking to himself as he carried Hermione to the infirmary. The trip didn't take very long and it wasn't hard even though he was carrying a good bit of extra weight in his arms. 'Quidditch soooo pays off. I might have to start scheduling some extra practices here and there.' _

"_Madam Pomfrey!" _

"_Oh, goodness…who is it? What's wrong?" she called from her room sounding in a bad temper already._

"_It's the Head Boy, Draco Malfoy. Umm...I have Granger with me but she kind of fainted and I didn't really know what to do."_

"_Oh my!" Not half a minute after Draco had supplied that small explanation, the nurse came out in her pajamas and a robe wrapped around herself. "Set her down on the bed. Gently now, gently."_

_Draco did as he was told and stepped back out of the way so the Mediwitch could have a better look at the Head Girl. _

"_Merlin, how did this happen?" she said expectantly as she was checking Hermione over for any bumps, bruises, and anything else of the sorts. _

"_Uh…she and I were walking down the corridor patrolling and all of a sudden she slipped on, I'm assuming, water."_

"_Ooh, ok, she hit her head! Well _that_ explains why she's out cold."_

"_Oh, no, she didn't hit her head. I…umm...caught her before she hit the ground."_

"_My dear boy! How fast _are _your reflexes?"_

"_Well, pretty quick, I'd guess."_

"_That was very good of you Mister Malfoy. I believe she could have had quite a bit of trouble if she'd have hit her head on that hard, concrete floor. I'm sure she'll appreciate it. But still, how _did _she pass out?"_

"_That, I do not know." Draco said truthfully._

"_Alright then…but anyway," she said while walking over to one of the many potion-filled cabinets, "I think I can have her all fixed up. Thank you for bringing her in and you can go back to your commonroom now. Goodnight!"_

"_No, that's alright, I think I'll stay to see that she's ok."_

"_Wha- excuse me?"_

"_I said, Madam, that I will be staying here for tonight."_

"_I told you to go back to your commonroom."_

"_And I considerately stated that I will enjoy spending the night here in the infirmary." Draco replied with politeness spilling over his words, so much so that it seemed almost unauthentic. _

_The two argued back and forth a little while longer until finally Madam Pomfrey threw her hands up in a frustrated surrender and sighed heavily._

"_Fine Mister Malfoy! Fine! You may stay here with Miss Granger tonight. But if you cause a _pinch _of trouble or disturb anyone, you will be thrown right out. Now, good _night_!" And with that, the older Mediwitch turned on her heel, walked into her office, and shut the door a little bit harder than necessary._

_Smirking to himself, Draco pulled over a chair and sat down. '_Why on earth did I argue to stay here with Granger? I don't even _like_ her._'_

_Realizing how late it was, Draco thought he had best go to sleep. If he got out of there early enough, Granger would never know it was him who helped her. She'd automatically assume it was one of her wonderful idiotic friends. So closing his eyes and concentrating on sleep, he fell into a peaceful slumber, all the while listening to the deep, rhythmic breaths of the girl lying in the bed beside him._

- - - - -

When Draco woke up the following morning he had such a stiff neck he thought he'd never be able to look behind him again. Looking up, the first thing he noticed was that he had a blanket on top of him, pulled all the way up to he neck. _'I didn't put a blanket over myself. How did I wake up with it? I know Pomfrey wouldn't have, and Granger, Granger couldn't have. She's been asleep the whole night. I'd have noticed if she was up and moving around. I'm too light a sleeper to not notice if my surroundings are moving. Maybe it's a spell of some sort?' _Draco thought as he curiously looked around as if half expecting a sign to be posted up explaining that there was indeed a spell to graciously warm up those whom are staying in the infirmary with a friend.

That's when he noticed her. She was lying on her side, facing him, looking perfectly contented, as if she was having a good dream. Her eyes lightly closed and her soft, wavy, chestnut-colored hair spread around her head with a few strands hanging in front of her beautiful face. The now untidy white sheets were around her hips and both hands, with their long, perfect nails were clasped together up near the pillow. _'Merlin…she looks so pretty…what has come _over_ me?'_

At that moment, the girl in question's eyes fluttered open. She was looking directly into Draco's scintillating eyes. Catching him completely off guard, he jumped back a little and momentarily lost his detached and impartial façade.

Hermione saw it, only for a second, but nonetheless, she saw it. It pleased her awfully. She had caught him with his protective shields entirely down. She mentally smiled to herself.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you." She said, sitting up.

"Well, I guess I'll be going then…" He replied turning towards the door.

He walked a few steps when all of a sudden he heard her.

"Malfoy, wait!"

Both shocked that she had called for him, he turning back around.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to say…I just wanted to say thank you."

"Whatever for?" He asked, hoping that if he played dumb, she'd fall for it and then wouldn't tell the other 2/3 of the Golden Trio or her other little companions that the high-and-mighty Slytherin Prince had actually helped her. He had a reputation, after all.

"You know what I mean." She stated with a small, yet genuinely appreciative smile.

"You're welc-crazy. I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about."

"The _faintest _idea, huh? Well, anyway, thank you again."

"Whatever." He replied with less attitude and venom than he has intended. And with that, he turned around and walked smoothly out of the hospital, leaving her there staring after him.

- - - - -

After getting dressed into her robes, Hermione went to see Madam Pomfrey about exactly how she had come to arrive at the hospital wing. The nurse gave a full recount of everything that happened the previous night, complete with frustrated faces, angry sighs, and hand motions. The Head Girl thanked her and left to go down to the Great Hall for a spot of breakfast. It was only 7:00 in the morning and since it was a Sunday, there were hardly any people in the Hall. They were all taking full advantage of the second of the two class-free days. You wouldn't get an argument about it though. That was all fine by her. She liked it better when there weren't so many people around. It was so much more peaceful and relaxing.

She sat down at the nearly empty Gryffindor table and picked out a big raspberry muffin and buttered it. Hermione savored the flavor as she chewed. It was like a little piece of heaven. Once it was gone, she downed half a glass of chilled orange juice, got up, and left the table, destination: her room.

She had to owl Dumbledore. Hermione had once heard that every morning, Dumbledore went up to Hogsmeade to visit the pet shop because he loved to watch the performing mice whom, coincidentally, loved being watched. So seeing as how she didn't know when he'd return, she figured she'd write an owl explaining the freaky lights that she saw in the corridor that just happened to scare the wits out of her. Then if he wanted to talk more about it, she could go to him office. That way, all would work out. He'd be able to fix this, no problem, right?

**A/N:** Hey guys! I LOVED the reviews. They totally made my day. Reviews build my confidence, therefore getting the chappie out faster! See? It all works out wonderful! But this chapter is pretty much unedited so if you see any mistakes, please let me know and I'll fix them straight away. But we're redoing my bathroom and my parents did wallpaper today and the smell of the paste from it really got to me and gave a really sore throat. But I didn't have much left to type by the time it got really bad so I shoved through because I desperately wanted to get it up tonight even though it's going on 11:00 at night and I'm really not supposed to be on the computer this late. You can tell I'm tired because I'm starting to ramble. Sorry. Heh… Thanks for reading! And I just wanted to say thank you to **spider-man-fan**, **Femke**, and **marajade64**. This chapter is dedicated to you guys for giving me much happiness. :) Cya all. Blessed Be.

Stars Around the Moon


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